Evidence supporting the use of: Bifidobacterium breve
For the health condition: Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth

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Synopsis

Source of validity: Scientific
Rating (out of 5): 2

Bifidobacterium breve is a probiotic strain that has been investigated for potential roles in gut health, including for conditions like Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). The scientific rationale for its use in SIBO relates to its ability to modulate the gut microbiota, enhance epithelial barrier function, and produce metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, which may suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria. However, the direct evidence specifically supporting the use of B. breve for SIBO is limited and mostly preliminary.

Several studies have explored the use of multi-strain probiotics (sometimes including B. breve) for SIBO, with some reporting improvements in symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, and normalization of breath tests. For example, a few small clinical trials and case series have shown that probiotics may help reduce bacterial overgrowth and improve gastrointestinal symptoms, but B. breve is rarely studied in isolation for this condition. Most of the evidence comes from in vitro studies or animal models, with few robust, placebo-controlled clinical trials directly examining B. breve’s effects on SIBO.

Overall, while there is a scientific basis for the use of certain probiotics, including B. breve, in modulating gut flora, the direct clinical evidence for B. breve in SIBO is weak. Thus, its use is supported more by extrapolation from general probiotic research than by strong, condition-specific data. Further high-quality clinical trials are needed to confirm its efficacy for SIBO.

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